Burnt wood by torch..........question

[Odie]

What is the best method of separating wood you wish not to be burnt, from that which you do?

What is the technique?

ooc

 

[Ruth Niles]

Odie, you might want to explain a bit more on what exactly you are looking to burn and not burn.

My first thought was "just don't burn the part you don't want burned"! 😀

Are you doing branding type burning? design drawing burning? rim treatment burning?

Ruth

 

[Bill Grumbine]

I usually put mine in two different piles. Every now and then, I will see a pretty piece is about to go into the furnace, and I put it aside. And sometimes I get a piece (like this week :mad: ) that is almost done in the shop and then goes to the furnace. Oh wait, that isn't what you mean, is it? 🙄

Sorry I am not much help. Today is the last day of a week of Mondays for me. I hope it is better than the others. Off to the shop I go...

 

[Steve Worcester]

sometimes it easier to make other areas burn at a lower temp by brushing on something like lemon juice. But still there is a fine line between the temperatures on wood. It may be better to get a finer point torch, like a jewelers torch

 

[JRutten]

A Burning Question

The way Nick Cook did it on one of his platters was to burn and then turn off what he didn't want burned. Will that work for you?

 

[Richard Coers]

I've seen a method where the guy mixes a watered down clay, and paints it on the areas where he doesn't want the burn. You let the clay masking dry before burning. The "dirt" acts like an insulation and will pretty much flake/brush off when done. I haven't tried it, but his results looked great.

 

[David Strickland]

Odie,
when I decide to torch a piece I will do it before I make my last few cuts.
I burn the area I want blackened, clean it with a toothbrush, blow it off
and spray the area with lacquer to set the burnt area. Now I turn what's
left to do. This makes for good sharp lines between burnt and clean wood.

If I did it right, see the attached photo of a burnt maple burl.

David

 

[fgvanatta]

I use a micro torch. The flame is so small that there really isn't much of a problem confining the burning to a specific area.

 

[Odie]

Odie, you might want to explain a bit more on what exactly you are looking to burn and not burn.

My first thought was "just don't burn the part you don't want burned"! 😀

Are you doing branding type burning? design drawing burning? rim treatment burning?

Ruth

Ruth.......

At this point, I'm not sure what I want to do, but I've seen a few examples of turnings with burnt parts, and occasionally wondered if that could be applied to my turnings......😕. I have a cheap propane torch, plus an acetylene rose bud torch, but have never used either of these things for turnings........it was just a casual question out of curiosity......but, who knows? 😀

I guess I was thinking along the terms of how a painter masks an edge, but I guess that's probably not feasible......that is, unless there is some sort of non-flammable material that could be used this way......don't know.

Thanks to all the others who've responded to the initial question. It looks like turning the burnt wood away is probably the best way to get a clean edge between burnt and unburnt wood.......hand held and rotary carving tools might do that too, if an edge that isn't limited to a circular pattern is desired.........

Frank, do you have any picture examples of work you've done on wood with your micro torch?

Any other input?

ooc

 

[john lucas]

Odie I haven't tried Clay Foster's mud resist method of burning but it is a good way to do it. I didn't need that precise a line so I attached a small metal sheet, kind of like a spatula, to a piece of wood. In combination with a torch in one hand and the spatula in the the other I was able to control the burn pretty well. I wasn't trying for a crisp line but you could probably lay the spatula down on the wood and get a pretty clean line.

 

[Odie]

Odie I haven't tried Clay Foster's mud resist method of burning but it is a good way to do it. I didn't need that precise a line so I attached a small metal sheet, kind of like a spatula, to a piece of wood. In combination with a torch in one hand and the spatula in the the other I was able to control the burn pretty well. I wasn't trying for a crisp line but you could probably lay the spatula down on the wood and get a pretty clean line.

Hello John......

Yes, I did see that in this thread. Off hand, I think I'd prefer to avoid something like the mud approach. It does seem like it would probably work, though.

The spatula idea sounds like it may have some possibilities. I wonder if an opening could be cut into the spatula.....say, a circle, star, square...... or some other geometric shape. I wouldn't know if it could be used this way, but in my mind, I can visualize overlapping burnt shapes on a wood surface, with varying degrees of darkness depending on burn time due to overlap........dunno. That might be useful as some kind of visual "effect".......?

ooc

 

[fgvanatta]

Here's a small Maple form with the edges burned with a micro torch.

 

[Steve Worcester]

I would say if Clay Foster came up with it, it works. May require some 'sperimentin but it would work.

 

[Odie]

Here's a small Maple form with the edges burned with a micro torch.

Looks good, Frank.......and it looks better than I expected. In your previous post, you mentioned that you could confine the micro torch flame to a specific area. Can the assumption be made that you needed no, or minor surface finishing on the unburnt area after you used the torch?

That really does look like a good way to go.......

ooc

 

[fgvanatta]

I usually do the burning after 240 sanding. The I sand with 240 again and go on about my regular finishing process.